CancerAcupuncture: Chemotherapy
Most Cancer treatment requires multiple chemotherapy sessions over a 4-6 month period. There is generally a 3-week break in between each session and often during these times, the side effects are at their worse and can be both depressing and painful to tolerate. Below are the side effects that we can help you manage with, to make you feel physically and mentally capable to complete the chemotherapy with ease and without delay.
Common side effects of Chemotherapy includes:
Nausea, vomiting, mouth ulcers, insomnia, dry mucous membrane, constipation, hot flushes, lethargy.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/09/040922070424.htm
http://www.jco.ascopubs.org/cgi/content/abstract/23/28/7188
http://www.cancersupportivecare.com/chinesemedicine3.html
Aches and pains are a common side effect from chemotherapy or the heavy medication that is used to target the cancer cells. Research has showed that acupuncture can help reduce the aches and pains, which means you can get back to a more pain-less life with ease.
http://www.painjournalonline.com/article/S0304-3959(99)00304-8/abstract
http://nccam.nih.gov/health/acupuncture/acupuncture-for-pain.htm
Above are studies which has shown acupuncture and/or herbal medicine can help reduce the severity of Chemotherapy.
Feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns you may have.
Dr An Ni Chien CMD
Blue Sky Chinese Medicine Clinic
02 61624950
Cancer Acupuncture: Mythbuster; Plausible or Busted?
We often get emails or advertisements on the TV, radio or news paper about some kind of wonder medicine. Something that is supposed to be much more effective than any current medical treatment. They perhaps claim to have research approved by American laboratories as well as many testimonies by people who have supposedly used those medications and claimed it to be like a miracle pill.
So, how do we know if it works as it is claimed? In desperate situations, any sign of hope or a miracle is what we want. Therefore it is very important that we as patients, do not fall into these sorts of traps. In most cases if something sounds too good to be true then it probably is.
We are very cautious with the latest and greatest medicinal fruit or herb. Very often they come from the Chinese materia medica and yet are almost always used in combination with other medicinal to get their affect. For this reason alone it is important to be aware FAD medicines.
So what to look out for:
Credible research - This means that there have been wide variety of research done on them. Meta-Anlaysis, Randomised Control Trial, Clinical Trial Phase 4. Citations and references from such research articles are valued in the academic world.
Sites to visit for credible journal sources include:
Pubmed: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezproxy.lib.rmit.edu.au/mesh
CINAHL: http://www.ebscohost.com/cinahl/
Medline/ProQuest: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/default.shtml
If all these seems too much work to do, an easy way will be to ask around and see if any of your friends or family members have tried them. However, as a rule of thumb, which I personally reckon: If a treatment has excellent results, then it will surely be used as part of the mainstream treatment in hospitals and clinics somewhere around the world.
You are also welcome to ask me and I'd be happy to give you my opinion on such products.
Stay healthy everyone~!
Dr An Ni Chien CMD
Blue Sky Chinese Medicine Clinic
(02) 6162 4950
Cancer Acupuncture: Herbs or Natural Products that decrease Cancer growth
A research article published in 2004 (click on the link below to view the full article) lists various herbs and natural products (fruits/plant materials) which are believed to have anti-cancer properties.
http://ons.metapress.com/content/165v50368tp17350/fulltext.pdf
It is however important that before anyone rushes out to get them, that you take on board your specialists medical advice and remember that mainstream treatment with chemotherapy and radiotherapy are still the most effective ways of treating cancer. Although using acupuncture and herbal medicine can often be a useful adjunct to standard treatment.
Dr An Ni Chien CMD
Chinese medicine doctor
Blue Sky Chinese Medicine Clinic
(02) 6162 4950